"Escape From Hell"
Additional Gameplay Information
by Peter Karsanow - p.karsanow[AT}sbcglobal{DOT)net
v1.00 28 August 2002
This file provides additional information for playing the PC RPG
"Escape from Hell" that was released by Electronic Arts in 1990. The
only sources of information that I could locate about this game were:
1. a scanned copy of the manual, still available at a well-known
abandonware site if you look in the right place (I don't want to
provoke them to remove it as they've removed the game download);
2. the widely-distributed walkthrough by Ed "Buzzard" Reedy, with
assistance from Dave Konkel and Patricia Raymond, (c) 1991
(available at www.gamefaqs.com as escape_from_hell.txt);
3. the walkthrough in "Quest for Clues IV".
Information about getting your own copy, or hacking/cracking the game
will not be provided here.
I'll assume that you have access to the first two sources above, but
not the third. My suggestions mostly modify the information from
"Quest for Clues IV", and address the few minor errors in the Reedy
walkthrough.
TIPS
- STRATEGY
- - Don't save the game right after beating aggressively hostile
monsters (ones that will attack even if you don't try to interact with
them). They'll just be right back when you load. In fact, they'll be
in the same location as where you killed them (even the initially
friendly ones); this may cause pile-ups!
- - Because monsters are restored when you Load, the game both
encourages you to beat up on weak ones, and avoid multiple fights with
strong ones. Instead of the typical CRPG wandering monsters, just keep
saving and loading the game and fighting the monsters you just brought
back.
- - Don't worry too much if party members drop below 1 HP. They will
eventually regenerate back. However, all 3 cannot be allowed to die at
the same time, unless you want to reload or jump back to the start
location on level 1.
- - There are a lot of useless items in the game (see below). Always
drop weapons that you know you won't need; weapons don't break in this
game unless they run out of ammo. But armor can get worn down very
quickly, so decide early if you will press on regardless or try to keep
armor intact through loading saved games. There are only two places
where you can get unlimited armor items, so after a while I gave up and
walked around with none equipped except for really tough encounters
(Capone, long-range groups with guns, etc.).
- - The amount of additional HP and increases to character attributes
(Strength, etc. except for Psychic Force) gained at a new level are
random.
- - XP Table: (amount needed goes up by 1500 per level until 15000)
Level Experience
1 1500
2 4500
3 9000
4 15000
5 22500
6 31500
7 42000
8 54000
9 67500
10 82500
11+ 15000 more each level, e.g. 97.5k, 112.5k, etc.
- ITEMS
- - Here are the known special items that you may need to get through
the game. Some are unique, but others you can keep repeating the
procedure to get an unlimited amount:
Phone Handset - start game with this, unique at start, ?trade to a
Hell Sergeant in southern part of Lucifer's Landing for a Demonic
Shield (reported by Quest for Clues IV)?, unlimited once Lucifer's
Landing is destroyed from desk in south end, otherwise useless?
Matches - start game with this, unique, give to smoker in Court of
Minos in City on the Edge of Eternity for a Pistol 20
Holy Cross - in chest at game start, unique, best used on Al Capone
and Satan to instantly get rid of them in combat. I was never able
to damage Satan with an Unholy Mace, Uzi or Dark Rifle, so I'd say
this item is absolutely necessary!
Fairy Dust - in chest at game start, teleports when used?, or give at
Flicka's Flame to get Magic Potion, unique at start of game,
unlimited once Lucifer's Landing is destroyed (go to desk where you
got Care Bracelet earlier)
Healing Elixir - one in chest at game start, heals moderate HP
Mirror Shades - from prisoner (Melrose Amber) in Firepit in City on
the Edge of Eternity, give to Singer (Tom) directly north for a
Trench Coat once, can get again if nobody has item, armor, but
no Defense and supposedly protects against psychic attacks
Basket o Forks - from Court of Minos in City on the Edge of Eternity,
unlimited, give to A. Burr in Limbo for Police Special and Spiked
Shield one time, nothing after that
Yorick's Skull - from Shakespeare in Limbo or pile near Horatio on
level 1, unlimited, give to Hamlet to recruit him
'Tudes Tape - dispenser in Limbo, unlimited, give to man in NE of
level 1 for Parachute and Parachuting skill, there is a second item
with the same name in the ITEMS file for an unknown reason
Hell Badge - try to walk past Hell Sergeant in Recruiting Cave, then
use Bluff skill to get one, unlimited, lets you use most devil
statues for healing. Also, one is always in the bottom right chest
in the NW building of the Training Camp on level 1. Can also get
unlimited from Larry, the other comedian at the comedy club in
Gangster's Guillotine; if you recruit Frank, Larry will hand you
unlimited Hell Badges when you talk.
Parachute - give 'Tudes Tape at table near NE corner of level 1 to
get, used to jump from SE of Lucifer's Landing on Level 1 to start
on level 2
Care Bracelet - from desk near Flicka in Lucifer's Landing, give to
Juliet in Court of Minos in City on the Edge of Eternity for
Angelic Powers, look at desk again to read "Dust of Fantasy +
Flicka's Flame = Healing Force"; unique before Lucifer's Landing
is destroyed, unlimited afterward (go to where Flicka was)
Angelic Powers - received from Juliet, a weapon: >=25 Damage, no
Defense, 1 attack, Medium range, unlimited uses! found in the ITEMS
file with the special monster attacks. Apparently don't need to
keep this to successfully end the game.
GallonOfBlood - from Bonny or BOA counter in Gangster's Guillotine,
give at bank in City of Devils to get Bulletproof Suit (do 3 at
once), unlimited
DataBaseProgrm - from Julius Ceasar's computer in Gangster's
Guillotine, for woman in Minos Court, City on the Edge of Eternity.
can get unlimited, but only need 1.
ConsultntBadge - from woman near SE Office of Redundancy, City on the
Edge of Eternity, level 1 after giving other woman the
DataBaseProgrm. unlimited, but need only one on level 3.
SuperiorsCloak - from same woman as Consultnt Badge, at same time you
get Badge, unlimited. this armor item can be equipped at same time
as BulletPrf Suit!
LaptopComputer - from man in SE Office of Redundancy, City on the
Edge of Eternity, unlimited. also unlimited by using Steal skill
at clerk in Order Center, Beelzebub's Bane, level 3. needed to
transmit party into Satan's Fortress from Death Alley.
Magic Pyramid - from top center chest in Security Depot, Beelzebub's
Bane, level 3. unknown use, kills any character it's used on!
Phreaker Box - from Scrooge in Dismal Land, needed to transmit
party into Satan's Fortress.
- - And here are known (or believed to be) useless items that aren't
weapons or armor:
Button - Stalin in City on the Edge of Eternity, Richard given one
before he joins, Stalin has one
Gold Bar - City on the Edge of Eternity at sign near Firepit,
unlimited
Happy Face Pin - Clown in City on the Edge of Eternity, unlimited
B.'s Sketches - Aaron Burr's designs for pistols, B. Arnold wants
them, if you Give them to the desk then all the guards in Limbo
become Hostile; both walkthroughs tell you not to take item
Intestines - Zombie booty
Slime - Zombie or Crypt Thing booty
- - There are places where you can get unlimited items of a specific
type:
Gold Bar - City on the Edge of Eternity at sign near Firepit
LaptopComputer - man in City on the Edge of Eternity, needed to
transmit party into Satan's Fortress. also by using Steal skill
at clerk in Order Center, Beelzebub's Bane, level 3.
Happy Face Pin - Clown in City on the Edge of Eternity, useless
Garbage Can Lid - through rear door of Minos Court, City on the Edge
of Eternity (shield rating 2)
SilverNecklace - after you get a Trench Coat from Tom (north of fire
pit in City on the Edge of Eternity) for Mirror Shades, you get one
of these if you bring more, can be equipped but no apparent effect,
probably useless
Yorick's Skull - from Shakespeare in Limbo or pile near Horatio,
give to Hamlet to recruit him
Shovel - man on toilet, Limbo OR trade a Dueling Sword to Quasimodo
in the Training Camp. Melee Weapon rating 7, Use to dig up graves
in Training Camp.
GallonOfBlood - from table or Bonnie in BOA, Gangster's Guillotine,
level 2. take to Bank of Undead in Los Diablos and give at desk for
a BulletPrf Suit!
BulletPrf Suit - from desk at Bank of Undead in Los Diablos when you
give a GallonOfBlood
RollingBoneMag - useless?, unlimited from Satan's Sauna, Los Diablos,
level 2
Gold Necklace - useless?, can be equipped but no apparent effect,
talk to Happy Rappers in east building of Satan's Halo, level 2
Bomb - talk to Singers/terrorists in east building of Prison, level 2
DataBasePrgrm - Ceasar's computer, Gangster's Guillotine, level 2,
only need one for level 1
ConsultntBadge - from woman near SE Office of Redundancy, City on the
Edge of Eternity, level 1 after giving other woman the
DataBaseProgrm. only need one on level 3.
SuperiorsCloak - from same woman as Consultnt Badge, at same time you
get Badge. this armor item can be equipped at same time
as BulletPrf Suit, so get at least 3!
Hitler's Diary - from bookcase in Dachau, give to Hitler to recruit
Phreaker Box - from Scrooge in Dismal Land, level 3, needed to
transmit party into Satan's Fortress
Clay Tablet - possibly used in a puzzle, from garbage can in
Hammurabi's house near pool, Dismal Land, level 3. useless?
- - Here are some tricky items:
Dueling Sword - the manual that I have says it has a Defense of 8,
but the most that I've ever seen is 3 (in Hamlet and Horatio's
inventory) and it's usually 2; odds are the "8" is an OCR mistake.
Hell Sabre - just like the Dueling Sword, except I don't know of any
NPCs that start with one, so I've never seen anything better than
a 2 Defense one.
Sleep Grenade - Equip, when in combat you must Status the character,
then Use the grenade. It just puts enemies to sleep, so you don't
get any XP or items from them. Bummer!
Despair Ankh - a weapon, one found when using Shovel on bottom left
grave in Training Camp, level 1. when used, may make Hostile enemy
Friendly (permanently!) and/or fearful of you so it runs away
Petrify Rod - a weapon that freezes an enemy (they just disappear,
no XP), one in toilet of Satan's Sauna, Los Diablos, level 2.
Apparently enemies can unfreeze after several combat rounds.
Red Cape - equippable as armor but no Defense, appears in weapon list
in ITEMS file, 1 use when received, Use to turn Friendly into
Hostile
Devil's Fork - weapon, 5 Defense when received, Group, >=40 Damage!
unknown # of uses but eventually breaks even if armor not worn down
Regal Crown - equippable but no Defense, when used says user is now
invisible! likely to get these from the Evil Woman group in Los
Diablos. actually probably useless.
Lucifer's Joke - unique from Capone's house, give to Frank in
Gangster's Guillotine to recruit
- - There are several items listed in the ITEMS file that aren't
obvious and aren't listed in the manual, so I'm listing them here so
I can present any data collected on them:
Demon's Fork - probably a weapon
Poison Grenade - probably a weapon you Use in combat
Lethal Grenade - probably a weapon you Use in combat
Book of Death - probably a weapon you Use in combat
Servitude Rod - probably a weapon
Confusion Prism - weapon you Use in combat, unknown effect
Pipe of Peace - probably a weapon you Use in combat
Elmer's Gun - probably a weapon
Sleep Grenader - a weapon, apparently a multiple-use Sleep Grenade,
I didn't try this out.
Diving Mask - armor rating 3, Code has one.
Diamond Ring - probably useless
Gold Ring - probably useless
Gold Ingot - probably useless
OrnateBracelet - probably useless
Diadem - can be equipped, probably useless
Ermine Cape - probably useless
Feathered Cap - probably useless
Bag of Jewels - probably useless
Welding Tools - probably used in a puzzle
Thieves' Picks - probably improve Picklock skill
SafeCrackTools - probably improve Picklock skill
80986 Processor - probably used in a puzzle
Infernal Card - probably used in a puzzle
Hollow Boulder - probably used in a puzzle
Healing Spray - minor healing item
Healing Elixir - small healing item
Curing Potion - large healing item
Magic Potion - moderate healing item, use Fairy Dust at Flicka's
Flame to get one
Magic Pyramid - unknown use, found in north center chest in Security
Depot of Beelzebub's Bane, level 3. when used, kills user!
Razor Blade - probably used in a puzzle
Black Sphere - probably used in a puzzle
Bugle - probably used in a puzzle
Fairy Dust - teleports party?, or change into Magic Potion
Devil Dust - unknown
Divining Rod - unknown
Junk - useless
Peace Symbol - equippable, use to make Hostile into Friendly
Holy Water - unknown
Boom Box - unknown, Code has one, can't be used or equipped. probably
useless.
AquaLung - unknown
SurfBoard - unknown
Towel - unknown
StraightJacket - unknown, Jekyll has one but it can't be equipped or
used, probably useless.
Heart - useless?
Cigarettes - useless?
SunTan Lotion - useless?
Steroids - useless?
Stryker Tape - useless?
Surf Wax - useless?
Lead - useless?
Clay Tablet - probably used in a puzzle, unlimited from garbage can
in Hammurabi's house near pool, Dismal Land, level 3
Noodles - useless?
'Tudes Tape - either a bug, or a repeat of the same item
- - There are references in the ESCAPE.EXE file to cursed or evil
items, but I never found any.
- INVENTORY
- - Characters in the party can randomly gain items in combat, but only
if they have a slot open in inventory. After combat, it's usually a
good idea to check the party's inventory for anything added. Items can
be added in the middle of the list, so check EVERYTHING. If you notice
that you're getting useless junk, you may even want to drop items
during combat.
- - Armor can be worn down or even destroyed during combat, but this
occurs randomly as a result of receiving high damage from enemies. I
resolved at first to avoid armor damage, and would Load to undo it if I
was just trying for more experience through "random" combat. Early in
the game, it's a lot tougher to get armor than weapons. But once I
got to "destroyed" Lucifer's Landing and level 2, I avoided wearing
armor except for really tough battles; it's just not worth reloading
all the time or going for replacement armor.
- - Most chests contain random items. The very first one doesn't and a
few special chests throughout the game, but after that, you may be
better off if you save nearby and load if you don't like what you get.
- - If you open a chest with no empty slots in anyone's inventory, the
game just says "Nothing..." and empties the chest anyway.
- NPCs
- - Here's the list of known recruits you can get: (L # is initial
level, # is uses left or skill level, (#) is Defense rating of item
if out of the ordinary)
Level 1
City on the Edge of Eternity
Stalin - L 0, HP 20, Spd 1, Nail Gun 15, Knife, Button, Heavy
Raincoat
Bluffing 3, Steal 16
Better than nobody to start with, first to go. Tends to desert
when leaving level 1. Button is useless? No combat skills.
Khan - L 2, HP 35, Spd 2, Broadsword, Garbage Can Lid, Frying Pan
Dueling 12, Fist Fighting 4, Martial Arts 5, Acrobatics 6,
MeleeWeapon 5, Archery 19
best fighter at first, tends to desert when entering Satan's
Halo on level 2.
unmodified level 1 terrain
Hamlet - L 2, HP 54, Spd 1, Dueling Sword (3), Yorick's Skull
Dueling 20, Fist Fighting 4, Melee Weapon 5, Archery 7
get a Yorick's Skull from near Horatio or from Shakespeare,
give to Hamlet to recruit him, then drop it. OK fighter who
won't leave unexpectedly.
Horatio - L 2, HP 45, Spd 2, Shovel, ThrowingAxe, Dueling Sword
(3)
Dueling 17, Fist Fighting 4, Archery 10
will join if you have Hamlet, better fighter than Hamlet and
also won't leave unexpectedly.
Limbo
Ach-Chu - L 2, HP 40, Spd 3, Spiked Bat
Dueling 6, Fist Fighting 15, Martial Arts 19, Acrobatics 10,
Melee Weapon 6, Archery 4
volunteers, appears to be a great fighter, may desert at Phu-
Dos at Satan's Halo on level 2
Training Camp
Dante - L 1, HP 30, Spd 1, J-Mart Hose
Dueling 7, Fist Fighting 10, Melee Weapon 1, Pistol Combat 2,
Rifle Combat 3
volunteers, annoyingly tends to follow you around the camp if
you don't recruit him
J. Booth - L 2, HP 45, Spd ?, Pistol [same amount of uses left]
Pistol Combat 20, Bureaucracy 20, Steal 13
Give a Pistol to recruit him, it will stay in his inventory,
I didn't use him
Level 2
Los Diablos
Wild Bill - L 3, HP 70, Spd 2, Auto. Pistol 40, Dark Rifle 40,
Dark Pistol 40, Flack Jacket, Super Sombrero
Marksmanship 20, Fist Fighting 15, Melee Weapon 7, Pistol
Combat 20, Rifle Combat 9, Archery 3
volunteers, great equipment, I didn't use him
Satan's Halo
Billy Bob - L 4, HP 65, Spd 2, Rifle 40, BulletProofVst, Mirror
Shades
Melee Weapon 5, Pistol Combat 5, Rifle Combat 2, Automatic/SMG
10, Swimming 4, Bluffing 18, Bureaucracy 3, Parachuting 7,
Pick Lock 8, Steal 12
north building, will join for Mirror Shades, I didn't use him
Blonde - L 1, HP 10, Spd 1, (nothing) (no skills!)
in Club Moranda (east building), volunteers
so useless it's not funny! could it change the ending if you
bring her out instead of Alison?
Mozart - L 2, HP 35, Spd 1, Pistol 20, Curing Potion 3, 3*Fairy
Dust 3, Diamond Ring, Gold Ring, Trench Coat, Mirror Shades
Marksmanship 5, Fist Fighting 3, Pistol Combat 10, Bluffing
13, Explosives 4
in Club Moranda (east building), willing to join after you use
Electrical skill. I didn't use him.
Prison of Damned
Sparticus - L 1, HP 80, Spd 2, Battle Axe
Dueling 14, Fist Fighting 20, Acrobatics 10, Melee Weapon 17,
Swimming 5, Steal 10
volunteers, starts with 10 current HP. I didn't use him.
Gangster's Guillotine
Alan - L 2, HP 65, Spd 1, Knife, J-Mart Hose, Sledge Hammer
Dueling 5, Marksmanship 1, Fist Fighting 13, Martial Arts 3,
Melee Weapon 3, Pistol Combat 10, Rifle Combat 6, Archery 5,
Swimming 17
volunteers after defeating Capone, necessary to finish game,
starts with 41 current HP
Frank - L 3, HP 50, Spd 2, Sledge Hammer, Wrist Rocket 30, Vapor
Grenade 0(!?), Cnstructn Helm, Trench Coat, Gold Ring
Fist Fighting 2, Melee Weapon 2, Pistol Combat 7, Rifle Combat
3, Bluffing 10, Pick Lock 3
give Lucifer's Joke from Capone's house, the Vapor Grenade
appears to be useless. I didn't use him.
Level 3
Dachau (SW of level)
Guderian - L 4, HP 110, Spd 2, Shovel, Auto.Pistol, Leather
Jacket, Sleep Grenade 1, Curing Potion 3, UZI SMG 40
Marksmanship 12, Melee Weapon 7, Pistol Combat 13, Rifle
Combat 13, Automatic/SMG 18, Rocket Lncher 17, Flying 10,
Swimming 3, Electrical 5, Bluffing 5, Bureaucracy 20,
Explosives 10
use Picklock skill to free (20 works), tells you Alison is in
Satan's Fortress. not bad, but too much trouble to build up as
high as Alan or Horatio; I didn't use him.
Hitler - L 6, HP 200, Spd 3, BulletPrf Suit, Demonic Shield,
MotorCycleHelm, Metal Gloves, Power Sword, ConfusionPrism 1,
Sleep Grenade 1, Petrify Rod 1, Devil's Fork, Hockey Mask
Marksmanship 5, Fist Fighting 1, Melee Weapon 2, Pistol Combat
3, Rifle Combat 1, Automatic/SMG 13, Rocket Lncher 13,
Swimming 6, Bluffing 20
give Hitler's Diary to recruit, supposedly hates Guderian and
reputed to be "flaky". great equipment, but I didn't use him.
Beelzebub's Bane (central SE level 3)
Code - L 4, HP 100, Spd 2, Boom Box, Peace Symbol 1, Diving
Mask (3), 2* Dynamite 1, Leather Jacket, MotorCycleHelm
Melee Combat 5, Pistol Combat 5, Rifle Combat 12,
Automatic/SMG 15, Rocket Lncher 18, Electrical 11, Hacking 20,
Bluffing 5, Explosives 10, Steal 10
fight or Bluff your way into his cell, volunteers, starts with
51 current HP, should be necessary to finish game but really
isn't.
Dismal Land (SE level 3)
BlakBeard - L 4, HP 90, Spd 2, Broad Sword, Crossbow 0 (!?),
Evil Axe, Spiked Shield, Metal Gloves, Demonic Shield,
SacrificeBlade
Dueling 20, Marksmanship 5, Fist Fighting 15, Melee Weapon 17,
Pistol Combat 4, Archery 3, Electrical 15, Bluffing 10, Pick
Lock 11, Steal 20
volunteers, apparently the Crossbow has infinite uses! I
didn't use him.
Jekyll - L 2, HP 80, Spd 1, Healing Elixir 3, Gold Ring,
StraightJacket, Pistol 15
Fist Fighting 15, Pistol Combat 20, Electrical 10, Explosives
15, Chemistry 20
will join for a Dark Pistol, and it doesn't even stay in
his inventory! once in party, you will find 2 Sleep Grenader
(6 uses) in the far left and right bookcases. Reedy's
walkthrough says that if he's in party "the stars will drain
you of skills", but this only applies to the bottom 2 stars
in the room and the others apparently do nothing. Just avoid
this guy!
Satan's Fortress
Alison - L 3, HP 60, Spd 1, (nothing carried)
Dueling 4, Marksmanship 3, Melee Weapon 10, Pistol Combat 7,
Rifle Combat 5, Automatic/SMG 11, Archery 5, Rocket Lncher 3,
Swimming 16, Hacking 4, Chemistry 18
volunteers, necessary to finish game.
Special NPCs listed in the NPCS file:
Tom - City on the Edge of Eternity, when given a Mirror Shades,
will give a Trench Coat once, then Silver Necklace afterward
A. Burr - in Limbo, give him the Basket o Forks for a Police
Special and a Spiked Shield once
Quasimodo - in Training Camp, give him a Dueling Sword for a
Shovel, unlimited
Moriarty - in Lucifer's Landing, tells you where Flicka's Flame
is (on level 1) if you give him a Pistol, or once Lucifer's
Landing is destroyed there's a plaque at his former location
with the same info
Harry - in Prison, level 2 (give Dark Rifle to raise Picklock to
20)
Clyde - in BOA, Gangster's Guillotine, level 2 after Capone
beaten. wants a Tommy Gun to teach you Automatic/SMG 15
Larry - other comedian at the comedy club in Gangster's
Guillotine; if you recruit Frank he'll hand you unlimited
Hell Badges
Satan - the Ultimate Bad Guy, but can be easily defeated if you
saved the Holy Cross all this time
SKILLS
- PASSIVE
- - Either through transcription error or oversight in the original,
Archery isn't defined in the manual available to me. Logically, it
should enhance effectiveness with bows and crossbows, but I have no
idea if Nail Gun and Wrist Rocket benefit too.
- - Here are places where party members can learn various passive
skills, in the expected order that you will get to them:
Melee Weapon 15 - Marc Anthony, around Library in Limbo, all
except Richard
Archery 15 - Thucydides, Library in Limbo, Richard only
Rifle Combat 15 - Hell Sergeant near entrance of Training Camp,
all
Dueling 19 - Hell Sergeant E side of Training Camp, all except
Richard
Pistol Combat 10 - book in Examination Room of Recruiting Cave,
Richard only
Automatic/SMG 15 - Flicka, Lucifer's Landing, Richard only
Rifle Combat 15 - Wyatt Earp, Los Diablos, level 2, all (same
as Hell Sergeant)
Automatic/SMG 15 - Clyde after Capone gone, BOA, Gangster's
Guillotine, level 2, all but Richard, for a TommyGun, does
some damage to party members
Rifle Combat 18 - Model, Dachau, level 3, all but Richard, don't
have to actually "fall in" - just talking to Model is enough
RocketLnchr 15 - Rommel, Dachau, level 3, only to the character in
the second slot of the party!
- - Note that if the NPC's skill is already above that taught by the
trainer, it drops to the value for the trainer regardless. A minor
loss for Hamlet at the Hell Sergeant, but it could be worse.
- ACTIVE
- - Here are places where Richard can learn various active skills, in
the expected order that you will get to them:
Parachuting 9 - give 'Tudes tape to man in NE part of level 1,
also get Parachute, Richard only
Picklock 10 - touch left pitchfork in Training Camp, level 1,
then use existing Picklock skill on door, Richard only
Electrical 20 - Ed in Capone's City, level 2, Richard only
Explosives 15 - Abdhul in Prison, level 2, Richard only
Picklock 20 - give Harry in Prison, level 2 a Dark Rifle, Richard
only
Bluffing 20 - use Sledgehammer on aquarium in Abe's Tanks,
Prison, level 2 (can usually get one from the hostile
wimpy prisoners, or Alan starts with one), Richard only
Swimming 10 - try moving into pool in Dismal Land, level 3,
Richard only.
Swimming 20 - give Erik the Viking in Dismal Land, level 3 a
Dark Pistol, Richard only. also told that Alison was moved to a
cave in the NE of level 3 (untrue unless you want XP). NOTE:
going back in the pool with skill 20 will reset it to 10!
- - The only place so far that I've found where Steal works is at the
clerk in Beelzebub's Bane, level 3; level 10 with the skill, from
"Code", is enough to get unlimited LapTopComputers.
- - I never found a use for Chemistry or Explosives.
- - If you try to use Alison's Hacking skill, it brings up a list of
some of her inventory items. The LapTopComputer appears, but you can't
select it. The Phreaker Box doesn't appear. I guess I didn't figure out
this puzzle.
- - It appears that Hacking, Bureaucracy, Chemistry and Steal are never
learned during the game, only some NPCs know them.
- Unknown
- - There are several skills listed in the ESCAPE.EXE file that
aren't mentioned in the manual. These could be active, passive, or
even unimplemented:
Flying - seen as active skill on Guderian, unknown if usable.
Mechanical
Boatman
Pilot
Find Trap
WALKTHROUGH COMMENTS
1. As long as you don't attack, you can often avoid contact with or run
away from many encounters until you have better people and better
equipment. Remember that you are usually best off NOT attacking
"Friendly" groups. While it may seem that you can get stuck, there is
often a way out. Or, unfortunately, you've done something you
shouldn't and will have to backtrack or even start all over.
2. Two places in the City on the Edge of Eternity to gain experience:
the Court of Minos room near the back door, and the Post Office. I
suggest you only open one of the 3 chests each time you save-fight-
load, so you can try for good weapons. The Skeleton at the Post
Office has a good chance of dropping an Unholy Mace, which is the
best weapon (except for perhaps Hamlet's and Horatio's Dueling
Swords with 3 Defense) you can get this early in the game. It's the
second-best thing on the weapon list with unlimited uses (the Dark
Axe is the only thing better, and I only found one in Satan's
Fortress). Also note that while Hamlet's and Horatio's Dueling
Swords start out with 3 Defense, every other one that you get has
only 2, as do the Hell Sabres later, even though they should be
higher (or my copy of the manual is wrong). Also, Minos' Estate is
NOT worth going into; there are two Friendly groups blocking your
way in, and only wimpy weapons in the chests and a DTI phone. And
don't bother keeping a LapTopComputer at this point; you'll be back
later or could get one elsewhere. Avoid the receptionist the whole
game, to avoid tough combats all over early in the game, and to
avoid bothering with wimpy combats when you're buffed from level 2.
3. How do you get the Skeleton blocking your way from the City on the
Edge of Eternity to be Hostile? One way that might work is to save
the game in the City, then go out and attack the Skeleton, and Run
from the Hell Guards. If you do this right, when you Load the
Skeleton will be hostile but the Guards will still be Friendly,
and hopefully not blocking the way out either. Otherwise, you'll
just have to take your chances with initiating hostilities and
the consquences of hostile Hell Guards all over, and possibly not
being able to finish the game. Do NOT waste a charge from the Holy
Cross on these guys or any minor enemies; save it for Capone and
Satan.
4. If you take the B.'s Sketches from A. Burr's desk in Limbo, and give
them to B. Arnold (actually give them to his desk), you'll trigger
an alarm that makes all the Hell Guards in Limbo Hostile. You
probably don't want that. Both walkthroughs advise against it.
5. To get a Hell Badge, you MUST try to walk past the Hell Sergeant at
the Recruitment Cave. You will NEVER get anything if you aren't one
step beyond him, but even Bluffing 1 will work then. Also, DON'T
follow his orders and go in further to the Examination Room. Not
because you can't beat the Loggers, but because it will cause the
groups waiting on line to move around and block your way out, which
causes problems later trying to get back in. So just get the badge
and immediately leave for the Training Camp. You'll be back later.
6. What can often occur: you have gotten surrounded or boxed in by too
many friendly or neutral groups that you can't move in the direction
that you want. If the blockers are moving about randomly, then
either wait (press spacebar) or move to give them a way past you if
possible. If the blockers are stationary, you may be able to
"legally" turn them Hostile so you can get rid of them with a clear
conscience. Here's how: you must find another group nearby that IS
Hostile, and start fighting them. The blocking group will often turn
Hostile as well, and then you either have to Run or fight as
necessary. You can also sometimes save the game, start fighting,
leave the map, reload and they'll still be hostile when you resume.
7. Why can't you enter the far northwest or northeast corners of level
1? They appear clear... Same thing appears for empty corners of
other levels as well.
8. In the Training Camp, use the yellow pitchforks to get some skills
and items. I avoided them out on the larger level maps. Touch the
left one, and then use Richard's Picklock skill while next to the
door, even if it appears open, and Picklock will rise to 10. Touch
the top one to go to a graveyard where you can dig up some stuff if
you use a Shovel BELOW (only) a tombstone. The bottom left one got
me a Despair Ankh (see explanation elsewhere); most have nothing or
bones that you apparently automatically discard. The one directly
below the right pitchfork had Pistol 20, Pistol 20, UZI SMG 50,
Police Shield, Sleep Grenade 1, Battle Jacket (thus you should have
6 slots empty, rather than 5 as stated in the Reedy walkthrough).
The one at the left end of the row above the left and right
pitchforks had a Hockey Mask and a Chainsaw 20.
9. In the Training Camp, before you touch any of the pitchforks (or
when you touch the bottom one to make it "normal"), there is one
unmarked location to the NW of the pitchforks that will spray
you with noxious gas when you enter it. This is actually a bug,
because there is one location in the right pitchfork's area that
DOESN'T spray noxious gas like it's supposed to. Just in case you
didn't figure it out...
10. When you're bored with the Training Camp, and have gotten at
least the Pick Lock training, head back to the Recruiting Cave. Now,
just get another Hell Badge from the Sergeant (or you'll have to
fight everyone), then go past into the Examination Room to the
south. Fight the Loggers if you want (but, again, it will turn most
of the groups on line Hostile), but definitely get the Pistol
training from the book in the NW corner. Go for the chests in the
south end of the room if you like. Back up, east through 1 Despair,
and use your master (10) Pick Lock skill on the door. Fight the
2 groups in the treasure room, and make sure you get the Demonic
Shield from the bottom center chest. With it, you're allowed into
Lucifer's Landing.
11. Unfortunately, you have to do a lot of things in Lucifer's Landing
on the first trip through, because it will be destroyed once you
get close to any of the chests and come back later. Go to the north
first, as you can meet Flicka, get Richard trained in Automatic/SMG
and get the Care Bracelet nearby. Anything you can use from the
chests is good news. To the south, make sure you have the Parachute
before entering the hole in the SE corner. Unless you use long-range
weapons, you'll either have to tough it out or run past the monsters
on the "6" islands when they're out of range.
12. Now about "Flicka's Flame"; it's on level 1, guarded by a group of
Hell Privates, and you passed by it on the way towards Lucifer's
Landing. It's NOT in Lucifer's Landing, and you don't need a boat or
anything special to get to it. Just go one west past where the
guards were, and give a Fairy Dust to get a Magic Potion. Moriarty
wants a Pistol to tell you where it is, but you can even get the
same information after Lucifer's Landing is destroyed by going to
where he was. And once Lucifer's Landing is destroyed, you can go
get unlimited Fairy Dust from the desk where you earlier got the
Care Bracelet.
13. I started playing with no armor equipped after a while, because
the monsters kept wearing it down. Once the characters had over 100
HP or so, for most fights it didn't matter as long as they didn't
go below 1 or could regenerate before something else hostile came
around. Slow and steady...
14. Once on level 2, take down the swarm around where you land. Avoid
the quicksand on the way directly north to Gangster's Guillotine;
it's rather unfair of the game to suddenly remove one of the NPCs,
but this is Hell! The Bank of Avernus is the east building; you can
either move at the counter or talk directly to Bonnie to get the
blood.
15. In Los Diablos, there are several spots in Satan's Speakeasy where
everyone but Billy the Kid will start to attack you. If you go for
the chests in Al's, all the lawmen come after you.
16. When you get to Satan's Halo, find the sign for Club Moranda and
then go north as best you can. Up in the corner, you'll find an
armor item. Just west of the sign for Phu-Dos, go directly south
and you'll find a healing item, and then head NW to the corner
under the building for an armor item. In the chests at Phu-Dos
are an Uzi and Mac 10, and a BulletProofVst, but taking them will
upset the tougher group of Hell Guards at the gate. Fight through
the door to the north, then head all the way west for a weapon. Go
all the way around the north building to talk to Sam for why you
need a Consultant Badge (to use at the door to Satan's Control
Center in his fortress). In the north building with Billy Bob,
there's a locked drawer that won't open for Pick Lock 10 but will
give you a weapon (Tommy Gun for me) with 20. To the east, go south
and towards the fenced-in flames for a weapon. In the east corner
just south of there is a healing item, and another healing item if
you go north and around to the corner.
17. You are always attacked when you leave Club Moranda, although it's
just some Hell Soldiers. There's nothing really worthwhile in here
anyway, though.
18. The first place that I found I HAD to use long-range weapons was
the 2 Cops at the Prison. Otherwise, those Uzis just ripped the
party to pieces while trying to get close.
19. The two chests in the east building of the Prison contain random
armor items. The Asbestos Suit that you get, along with Bluffing
20, is probably in case you want to try walking through the fire
surrounding Satan's Fortress on level 3; ignore it otherwise, as
the other two walkthroughs have.
20. With Bluffing 20, you automatically get past the guard going into
Capone's City when you walk past the light posts. Maybe this works
with a lower skill level, I don't know.
21. You don't have to go into the FallenAngel Cafe; the Hell Captains
there are nasty unless you're prepared to oppose Dark Rifles with
lots of firepower.
22. The Red Cape can be used to turn Friendly NPCs and monsters into
Hostiles. The only problem is that they will go first in combat.
A very strange thing is that Buffalo Bill will shoot your characters
about 150 times each with his Uzi when he turns Hostile, but the
NPC doesn't have an Uzi when you recruit him. Similarly, Clyde at
the BOA will shoot you about 300 times with a TommyGun although he
asks you for one.
23. If you attack Julius Ceasar, his Police Special won't work in the
combat! Anyway, don't forget to get one DataBaseProgrm and take it
with you back to level 1 (which normally means going back to
Capone's City and taking the lower set of pentagrams to end up in
Lucifer's Landing - or you could just get the whole party killed and
restart at the entry point on level 1).
24. Give the DataBasePrgrm to the woman north of the receptionist. Then
go find her sister near the SE corner of the City, and get at least
3 SuperiorsCloak, but keep only 1 Consultnt Badge. Make sure you
have gotten the Angelic Powers from Juliet, and one LapTopComputer
before leaving level 1 by walking into the DTI phone in the Court
of Minos (or going through the Parachute routine to level 2, then
through the upper set of pentagrams at Capone's City); we won't be
coming back here again unless the party is consistently wiped out.
25. The RubberNecker near the entrance to Dachau is rather easy to kill
with Unholy Maces, and gives 1000 XP. Not a bad place to hang out
and build levels. When you enter Dachau, Alan's Swimming skill will
kick in and move you across between the far east and far west points
of land; a 6 skill doesn't seem high enough.
26. QFC4 mentions that there is a transporter to level 2, and says that
it's in Beelzebub's Bane. Actually, it's a pentagram roughly in the
center of level 3, and sends you to the transport pentagrams in
Capone's City on level 2. However, those will send you somewhere
else on level 3, possibly a random location.
27. There appears to be a puzzle with Hammurabi and his clay tablets
in Dismal Land, but I have no idea how to solve it or what to do
with a Clay Tablet.
28. Yes, the northeast cave is a trap, but you can get out of it
relatively unscathed if you're lucky. First, the Hostiles will go
back to Friendly after about 500 or so moves, so if you can stay
still while out of their range they'll eventually let you out. Just
don't try to go towards the back, or the alarms will go off again!
Also, possibly by getting into the "black" area through the exit,
some of the groups from the entrance area were seen to wander around
the blackness a while after the alarm went off. Did anyone try using
a Shovel on the tombstone at the end of the cave?
29. In one script glitch, you can enter Satan's Fortress by moving into
the DTI phone booth at the end of Death Alley with only the
LapTopComputer and the Phreaker Box, but the message mentions Code
even if you don't have him in the party (I had Horatio). A second
glitch occurs if you drop the LapTopComputer and Phreaker Box once
inside Satan's Fortress, but keep the Consultnt Badge, use it to
enter the locked room and go to the desk; the message says you
disassemble those two items. A third one occurs if you defeat
Satan without Alison, then head back to get her; you get the entire
trash talk from Satan each time you pass through a certain square.
Same goes for the pep talk from Alan a bit earlier in the hall.
30. Anyway, to get through Satan's Fortress with the minimum ruckus,
as soon as you appear equip long-range weapons. Head north to a "T"
and go east from there. At the next "T", head south, ignoring the
Consultant's Room. Yes, that's Alison in the room to the west, you
can go talk to her but be aware that a group of Hostiles is in range
through the walls. Follow the hallway from then on, fight Satan,
then one last Hostile group further on towards the red square. Do
NOT save the game after defeating Satan if you used the Holy Cross,
because the Big D will be right back and you won't have your instant
kill item anymore! Once it's safe, go swap out your last NPC for
Alison, and head back through the hallways past Satan's office (a
bit bare, isn't it, for the Lord of Evil?) to the strange red
square. Move into it to end the game.
31. If you've been "good", then you get a message that the door opens,
then see a minimally animated end screen implying that you can
return to life on Earth. Press Ctrl-q to quit at that point. If
you've been "bad", I guess you don't leave! The game won't let you
try to go through without Alison or Alan. You apparently don't need
to keep the Angelic Powers though, or do anything with the
Consultant's Room.
32. Compared to how Reedy apparently played the game, I kept Horatio
until the very end, and used missile weapons as little as possible.
Only when confronted with machine guns at long range, or
evangelist-type groups, where it was suicidal to charge in, did I
resort to equipping the guns and sometimes armor. Nearly the whole
game, everyone used Unholy Maces. For me, Richard ended the game at
level 19, Horatio at 24 (that Spd 2 and Melee Weapon skill makes a
huge difference), and Alan at 15 (the game usually let him shoot
before the others but he was still wimpy).
33. Some loose ends:
- Sorry, I forgot to record the Spd value for Booth.
- With Guderian or Booth (Bureaucracy 20, possibly even Billy Bob
although only skill of 3) and Code (who knows what to ask for),
could you get something special from the clerk in Beelzebub's
Bane?
- Can anything useful be done once the Consultnt Badge gets you in
the Consultant's Room? Does it involve using the Laptop and
Phreaker Box and Hacking skill, or maybe Explosives?
- Can you do anything for Hammurabi (who should be in Limbo with
the Virtuous Pagans!) or anything with the Clay Tablet?
- Who is the General that Captain Blye (sic) in Dismal Land says is
in the Supply Depot (which is where?), and is implied to be in
pieces? If this is Guderian, there's a continuity glitch.
- Does anything happen if you use a Shovel at the tombstone at the
back of the cave where Alison is supposed to be?
- I tried making one unprovoked attack while in Satan's Fortress,
but was still considered "good". How bad do you have to be to
not get out of Hell? Is there even a bad ending?
- Does anything different happen if you try to bring out the Blonde
instead of Alison?
- No, there is no apparent way to import Wasteland (or any other
game's) characters into Escape From Hell.
Anyway, I'm glad I finally finished this one. I wish it had allowed
skills to rise through experience rather than just being taught, but
this ain't Wasteland (or even Fountain of Dreams). Somehow, I get the
feeling this was somebody's submission to EA that got them jobs there,
not a product built by a large team and exhaustively wrung out.
Certainly a unique RPG!
Pete Karsanow
This document Copyright 2002 Peter Karsanow.
http://www.geocities.com/hentaihelper/p_gmhelp.htm